Heavily disagree! If we're talking romance, then Shadowheart is one of the prettier girls, and romancing her is definitely a crowd favorite. I have not yet played the changes but I'm very pleased to see they've reworked her everlasting frowning expression and some of her horrid personality. She was a total unrelatable bitch, and the fact she's giving you the vibe that she's doing you a favor being in your presence is absolutely annoying. Larian must've reworked her for a reason, a lot of negative feedback was given on these companions, which in all honesty, were detestable. They had and still do have the potential to become extremely interesting and likable companions, but their incredibly cocky attitudes and throwing hardships on the player by spouting disrespect every time they open their mouth was honestly not something to be enjoyed. I thoroughly appreciate and respect Larian for having listened to the fanbase and taking measures to change this.

If they were enemies, these attitudes would be suiting because they were provocative and constant - this doesn't mean the companions should be spineless wimps, but a respectable 80% of the interactions with them were negative. This is act 1, yes but it doesn't matter if it is the start of the game or end of the game, logically, linearly it matters what you went through with these characters as of now and not how much there is ahead - so if I'm in Act 1 but I've already cleverly slaughtered the Goblin Camps, got rid of all the True Souls and slain Beholders, the party has already been through a lot. When I run through the battlefield butchering enemies and save my companion's life I want recognition for it. If I don't at least get that, the last thing I want is to see snarky attitudes and them judging my every decision like some kind of jury. We are the main character, and while it's not outspoken, it's pretty clear we are the leader of the party. We make the decisions, and at best they can display their stand on the decision we made -- As it stood, Shadowheart and Laezel behaved provocatively and honestly? Like petty children whose candy got stolen. Their grim perspective on things and whines were tiresome and you'd expect from adventuring adults, priestess of Shar, and a Githyanki warrior a tad more optimism and emotional resilience.

The thing about Shadowheart shying away from the kiss pre-patch and shying away from intimate relations were quite offputting, the way it was addressed and executed made it seem like such childish behavior. They don't have to be perfect, trauma, and stress immune companions, but you expect a minimum from them. Yes, the situation seems grim, after all, they've been kidnapped and there was a foreign creature implanted in their brains, displaying fear and stress is fine - constant nagging and negativity and looking at their ever angry or disapproving faces took away so much. All of the characters are in the same boat, they behaved like the MC was the one who forced them to join this ride and that they're doing him/her a favor.

Bottom line, unless you've got some kind of warped inferiority fetish I believe every player wants to feel respected by the companions that escort him/her throughout the game. You can start as the underdog that everyone doubts no problem, but as you stack achievements and collect victories on the battlefield it should become evident that you are a force to be reckoned with and I believe that Act 1 introduces enough adversity for the main character to get the respect of anyone who accompanies him throughout the act. It is important to clarify that the characters should have some resistance in their personality as is expected, but what we were introduced with initially was undoubtedly too much. I have never played a game in my life that made me think twice about keeping my companions with me. Regardless, super happy with Larian! I bought the game the first minute it was available and don't regret it. There's definitely a lot of ways to play the game.

There's one thing that bothered me though, was the introduction with the (Archdevil?) Raphael. In that interaction is a shameless ' illusion of choice' no matter what you pick he answers the same way and even worse, you end up with the same result. If my decision won't matter, then just give Raphael a monologue. Don't give me false-belief that I have the power to make a decision where I can't, it's frustrating. I wanted to accept the deal and see what happens, but he answers exactly the same things and disappears. I understand that in terms of balance or plot they don't want us introduced to some kind of power granted by him at the start of Act 1, but then again if you introduce a character and implement a choice dialogue, follow up with it. Otherwise, bring him when the story is ready for us to accept his offer the first time he arrives. It can certainly be a long-lasting back and forth dance with him over several meetings, but should provide the choice to take him up on the offer immediately with meaningful consequences as well - as of now, that interaction is shameless and choice-wise meaningless.